With the obesity epidemic expanding, expect generous helpings of stories like these. (For Part I, turn to page 235.)
TRIMMING THE FAT
After the 2009 holiday season, more than 5,000 people were kicked off the dating Web site BeautifulPeople.com because they’d put on extra pounds. The site began in 2002 as a more selective alternative to dating sites that “allow just anyone to join.” Only 20% of applicants to BeautifulPeople make the grade and, according to the site’s founder, Robert Hintze, “vigilant members” demanded action after some users posted photos of themselves during the holidays in which it was clear that they had “let themselves go.” An e-mail was sent to rejected members, inviting them to reapply when they were “back to looking their best” and even recommended boot camps where they could shape up. Hintze was unapologetic: “Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded.”
In 2009 United Airlines became the latest U.S. carrier to announce that heavier patrons would have to purchase an extra seat if they were too wide for one seat and couldn’t be relocated next to an empty one. United officials explained that they received hundreds of complaints per year from passengers who’d “had to share their seat with an oversized guest,” so United joined American, Continental, Delta, and Southwest in making “customers of size” pay extra. The policy riled many critics, who complained that airline seats are already too small. Surveys, however, found that a vast majority of people were in favor of the rules, including 80% of 18,000 people polled by MSNBC.
In 2009 in Britain—where one quarter of adults are obese—the National Health Service implemented a trial program called “Pound for Pound,” in which participants can earn up to £425 ($680) for losing 50 pounds. The company in charge of running the study, Weight Wins, upped the stakes to a maximum of £1,000 for a loss of 150 pounds, “to be achieved and maintained over two years.” Participants in the program lost an average of 14.4 pounds after six months, which, according to officials, compared favorably to other weight-loss programs. That finding was backed up by a study in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that found that people who had financial incentives were five times more likely to be successful at dieting than those who did not.
70% of airline passengers polled say they’d rather have onboard wi-fi access than a meal.
In January 2008, the Mississippi state legislature introduced House Bill 282, which would prevent restaurants from serving “any person who is obese based on criteria prescribed by the state health department.” The bill’s co-sponsor, Republican State Rep. John Read, acknowledged that, at 230 pounds, he might be among the more than 30% of Mississippians affected by the ban. “I’m trying to shed a little light on the number-one health problem in Mississippi,” he explained. Restaurant owners and advocacy groups opposed the bill. According to the Obesity Action Coalition, “Studies have demonstrated that discrimination, ridicule and stigma against the obese do not lower obesity rates. Instead, the opposite is true. Those who are the victims of stigma or discrimination are more likely to engage in unhealthy eating behaviors.” J. Justin Wilson, a research analyst representing the restaurant industry, put it more bluntly, “What’s next? Will waitresses soon be expected to make sure we eat all our veggies?” Democratic State Rep. Steve Holland, chairman of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, pronounced the punitive measure “dead on arrival at my desk.” True to his word, the bill died in committee that summer.
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“It’s not my fault I’m fat. Cakes are nice, and they have them in supermarkets.”
—Ricky Gervais
Per capita, the U.S. has 66 times more prosecutions than France.